The 68-year-old priest of the Sai Baba temple Devulla Satyanarayana Sharma, who was attacked by Sayeed Sadhiq Hussain, an imam of a Mosque in Warangal on October 26, succumbed to injuries and died in the wee hours of Thursday at NIMS hospital in Hyderabad, reported The Hindu.

According to the reports, the shocking incident occurred on the early hours of 26th October, when Satyanarayana Sharma was playing devotional songs on loudspeakers at a local Shiva Sai temple in Pochamma Maidan, Warangal. Sayeed Sadhiq Hussain, an Imam at LB Nagar mosque approached the Hindu priest and demanded him to switch off the loudspeaker. When the priest refused to do so, the angry Imam suddenly assaulted the age-old Satyanarayana mercilessly.

Reportedly, Satyanarayana Sharma suffered severe fractures in his ribs and ruptures in his liver. He was initially admitted to the MGM Hospital in Warangal but was later shifted to the NIMS, Hyderabad after his condition worsened. He succumbed to injuries on Thursday while undergoing the treatment.

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After the death of the priest, the situation became tense in the area after the local Hindu organisations, NGOs and members of Warangal Bar Association came together and called a bandh in Mandi Bazar, Pochamma Maidan and other localities in the city. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Kesireddy Jaipal Reddy has demanded the state government that the death penalty should be given to the Imam Sayeed Sadhiq Hussain.

Reddy asked the State government to announce ex gratia to the family members of the priest. He also requested the government that adequate security must be given to Saibaba temple to ensure such incidents do not recur in future, he added. The body of the priest has been taken to his native village Mogilicherla for the final rites.